{"nrhp_refnum":"76000707","name":"Grosse Point Light Station","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"2601 Sheridan Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Evanston","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":42.06385389600007,"lon":-87.67605372199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-09-08","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1999-01-20","areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A lighthouse station at 2535 Sheridan Road in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois, on the Lake Michigan shore. It was completed in 1873 by the United States Government and includes a brick tower, a duplex keeper's residence and two small fog-siren buildings.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the light as a response to shipwrecks off the point, at a time when more than 12,000 ships a year used the port of Chicago. Evanston citizens had petitioned for a light during the Civil War. The original reflector and its rotating mechanism survive, and the light still operates as an aid to small craft and a historical landmark.","narrative":"Grosse Point Lighthouse is a brick, steel and glass light tower about 90 feet tall on the Evanston lakefront, finished in 1873 by the United States Government. The tower sits beside a duplex residence for the keeper and assistant, and two small brick buildings added in 1880 once housed steam fog sirens, which were removed in 1922. The tower and residence together cost $35,000, with another $13,000 for the lighting apparatus. A concrete coating was added to the eroding brick in 1914, and the light was electrified and automated in 1935. It was built after shipwrecks along a shoreline used heavily by Chicago-bound traffic, and Evanston residents had petitioned for a light since the Civil War. The original reflector and its weight-driven rotating mechanism can still be seen. The city of Evanston received the grounds in 1935 and the tower in 1941, and the North East Park District now operates the site, where restoration began in 1973.","period_of_significance":"1873","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Restoration of the buildings and grounds began in 1973. The light is maintained to aid small craft and as a historical landmark, and the property is operated as a museum by the park district.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.747792-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/64/8922/28892264/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76000707.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000707/f4c0db8794-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000707/f4c0db8794-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":"User:JeremyA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grosse_Point_Lighthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:JeremyA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grosse_Point_Lighthouse.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"99000979","name":"Northeast Evanston Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/northeast-evanston-historic-district-99000979/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892264","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosse_Point_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5610547"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/grosse-point-light-station-76000707/"}